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The more than 40 Microsoft customers around the world who installed third-party malware are linked to the alleged attack by a Russian hacker, writes CNN.
The technology company says they have helped repel the attack and claims that 80 percent of the victims are in the United States.
The rest are in seven other countries: Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.
“This cyber attack is basically an attack against the United States, the government and other critical institutions, including security companies,” said Brad Smith, director of Microsoft in a blog post.
Software used
Since this spring, hackers have used Solarwinds software to break into various US ministries and companies. Something that has happened over time.
It was a malicious version of the software that Microsoft found on their networks.
The attack was revealed just days after security company Fireeye declared that hackers had broken into and stolen the company’s own hacking tool.
Hackers have also managed to penetrate Microsoft’s systems, according to the Reuters news agency. So far, the company has not commented on this information.
Targeting Russia
US authorities express growing concern about the scale of the global attack, for which they suspect Russia is responsible.
The data breach has affected federal agencies in the United States, as well as “critical infrastructure,” and the attack was difficult to detect, says the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which reports to the Department of Security. from the United States.
CISA does not indicate which agencies or which parts of IT systems are affected. Nor what kind of information was stolen in the attack that began in March.
According to Microsoft, the analyzes show that the attacks not only affected government agencies, but also security companies, other technology companies and non-governmental organizations.
Hard to get rid of
– This actor has shown a sophisticated and complex approach in these robberies. CISA expects that removing the threat from affected systems will be very complicated and challenging, the agency says in a highly unusual warning.
Over the weekend, it became known that hackers, among other things, broke into the email system of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce.
CISA has instructed all state ministries and agencies to remove Solarwinds from their servers.
Cybersecurity authorities in the UK and Ireland have issued similar orders.
Promises to prioritize network security
President Donald Trump, who has come under fire for firing the CISA director and downplaying Russia’s influence in the 2016 election, has not commented on the matter.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney blames Russia and criticizes the White House for what he calls “unforgivable silence” in the case.
President-elect Joe Biden, for his part, says he will prioritize computer security when he takes office on January 20.
Biden says a stronger defense is not enough.
– We must interrupt and prevent our counterparts from carrying out major cyber attacks. We will do this, among other things, inflicting a significant loss on those responsible, says Biden.
